COUNCIL OF
EUROPE
COMMITTEE OF MINISTERS
Recommendation
Rec(2003)23
of the Committee of
Ministers to member states
on the management by
prison administrations
of life sentence and other
long-term prisoners
(Adopted by the
Committee of Ministers on 9 October 2003
at the 855th meeting of
the Ministers' Deputies)
The Committee of
Ministers, under the terms of Article 15.b
of the Statute of the Council of Europe,
Considering that it is in
the Council of Europe member states' interest to
establish common principles regarding the
enforcement of custodial sentences in order to
strengthen international co-operation in this
field;
Considering that the
enforcement of custodial sentences requires
striking a balance between the objectives of
ensuring security, good order and discipline in
penal institutions, on the one hand, and
providing prisoners with decent living
conditions, active regimes and constructive
preparations for release, on the other;
Considering that prisoners
should be managed in ways that are adapted to
individual circumstances and consistent with
principles of justice, equity and fairness;
Referring to the
resolution on the implementation of long-term
sentences adopted in October 2001 by the
European Ministers of Justice during their 24th
Conference held in Moscow;
Considering that the
abolition of the death penalty in member states
has resulted in an increase in the use of life
sentences;
Concerned about the
increase, in many countries, in the number and
length of long-term sentences, which contribute
to prison overcrowding and may impair the
effective and humane management of prisoners;
Bearing in mind that
implementation of the principles contained in
Recommendation No. R (99) 22 concerning prison
overcrowding and prison population inflation, as
well as the provision to prison administrations
of adequate resources and staff, would reduce to
an important extent the management problems
related to long-term imprisonment and allow for
safer and better conditions of detention;
Considering that
legislation and practice concerning the
management of life sentence and other long-term
prisoners should comply with the requirements
embodied in the European Convention on Human
Rights and the case-law of the organs entrusted
with its application;
Bearing in mind the
relevance of the principles contained in
previous recommendations and in particular:
Recommendation No. R
(82) 16 on prison leave;
Recommendation No. R (82)
17 concerning custody and treatment of dangerous
prisoners;
Recommendation No. R (84)
12 concerning foreign prisoners;
Recommendation No. R (87) 3
on the European Prison Rules;
Recommendation No. R (87)
20 on social reactions to juvenile delinquency;
Recommendation No. R (89)
12 on education in prison;
Recommendation No. R
(92) 16 on the European rules on community
sanctions and measures;
Recommendation No. R (97)
12 on staff concerned with the implementation of
sanctions and measures;
Recommendation No. R (98) 7
concerning the ethical and organisational
aspects of health care in prison;
Recommendation No. R (99)
22 concerning prison overcrowding and prison
population inflation;
Recommendation
Rec(2000)22 on improving the implementation
of the European Rules on community sanctions and
measures;
Recommendation
Rec(2003)22 on conditional release,
Recommends that
governments of member states:
be guided in their
legislation, policies and practice on the
management of life sentence and other long-term
prisoners by the principles contained in the
appendix to this recommendation;
ensure that this
recommendation and the accompanying report are
disseminated as widely as possible.
Appendix to
Recommendation Rec(2003)23
Definition of life
sentence and long-term prisoners
1. For the purposes of
this recommendation, a life sentence prisoner is
one serving a sentence of life imprisonment. A
long-term prisoner is one serving a prison
sentence or sentences totalling five years or
more.
General objectives
2. The aims of the
management of life sentence and other long-term
prisoners should be:
to ensure that prisons
are safe and secure places for these prisoners
and for all those who work with or visit them;
to counteract the damaging
effects of life and long-term imprisonment;
to increase and improve the
possibilities for these prisoners to be
successfully resettled in society and to lead a
law-abiding life following their release.
General principles for
the management of life sentence and other
long-term prisoners
3. Consideration should be
given to the diversity of personal
characteristics to be found among life sentence
and long-term prisoners and account taken of
them to make individual plans for the
implementation of the sentence
(individualisation principle).
4. Prison life should be
arranged so as to approximate as closely as
possible to the realities of life in the
community (normalisation principle).
5. Prisoners should be
given opportunities to exercise personal
responsibility in daily prison life
(responsibility principle).
6. A clear distinction
should be made between any risks posed by life
sentence and other long-term prisoners to the
external community, to themselves, to other
prisoners and to those working in or visiting
the prison (security and safety principle).
7. Consideration should be
given to not segregating life sentence and other
long-term prisoners on the sole ground of their
sentence (non-segregation principle).
8. Individual planning for
the management of the prisoner's life or
long-term sentence should aim at securing
progressive movement through the prison system
(progression principle).
Sentence planning
9. In order to achieve the
general objectives and comply with the
principles mentioned above, comprehensive
sentence plans should be developed for each
individual prisoner. These plans should be
prepared and developed as far as possible with
the active participation of the prisoner and,
particularly towards the end of a detention
period, in close co-operation with post-release
supervision and other relevant authorities.
10. Sentence plans should
include a risk and needs assessment of each
prisoner and be used to provide a systematic
approach to:
the initial allocation
of the prisoner;
progressive movement
through the prison system from more to less
restrictive conditions with, ideally, a final
phase spent under open conditions, preferably in
the community;
participation in work,
education, training and other activities that
provide for a purposeful use of time spent in
prison and increase the chances of a successful
resettlement after release;
interventions and
participation in programmes designed to address
risks and needs so as to reduce disruptive
behaviour in prison and re-offending after
release;
participation in leisure
and other activities to prevent or counteract
the damaging effects of long terms of
imprisonment;
conditions and supervision
measures conducive to a law-abiding life and
adjustment in the community after conditional
release.
11. Sentence planning
should start as early as possible following
entry into prison, be reviewed at regular
intervals and modified as necessary.
Risk and needs
assessments
12. A careful appraisal
should be made by the prison administration to
determine whether individual prisoners pose
risks to themselves and others. The range of
risks assessed should include harm to self, to
other prisoners, to persons working in or
visiting the prison, or to the community, and
the likelihood of escape, or of committing
another serious offence on prison leave or
release.
13. Needs assessments
should seek to identify the personal needs and
characteristics associated with the prisoner's
offence(s) and harmful behaviour (criminogenic
needs). To the greatest extent possible,
criminogenic needs should be addressed so as to
reduce offences and harmful behaviour by
prisoners both during detention and after
release.
14. The initial risk and
needs assessment should be conducted by
appropriately trained staff and preferably take
place in an assessment centre.
15. a. Use should
be made of modern risk and needs assessment
instruments as guides to decisions on the
implementation of life and long-term sentences.
b. Since risk and
needs assessment instruments always contain a
margin of error, they should never be the sole
method used to inform decision-making but should
be supplemented by other forms of assessment.
c. All risk and
needs assessment instruments should be evaluated
so that their strengths and weaknesses become
known.
16. Since neither
dangerousness nor criminogenic needs are
intrinsically stable characteristics, risk and
needs assessments should be repeated at
intervals by appropriately trained staff to meet
the requirements of sentence planning or when
otherwise necessary.
17. Risk and needs
assessments should always be related to the
management of risks and needs. These assessments
should therefore inform the choice of
appropriate interventions or modifications of
those already in place.
Security and safety in
prison
18. a. The
maintenance of control in prison should be based
on the use of dynamic security, that is the
development by staff of positive relationships
with prisoners based on firmness and fairness,
in combination with an understanding of their
personal situation and any risk posed by
individual prisoners.
b. Where technical
devices, such as alarms and closed circuit
television are used, these should always be an
adjunct to dynamic security methods.
c. Within the
limits necessary for security, the routine
carrying of weapons, including firearms and
truncheons, by persons in contact with prisoners
should be prohibited within the prison
perimeter.
19. a. Prison
regimes should be organised so as to allow for
flexible reactions to changing security and
safety requirements.
b. Allocation to
particular prisons or wings of prisons should be
based on comprehensive risk and needs
assessments and the importance of placing
prisoners in environments that, by taking
account of their needs, are likely to reduce any
risk posed.
c. Particular risks
and exceptional circumstances, including
requests by prisoners themselves, may
necessitate some form of segregation of
individual prisoners. Intensive efforts should
be made to avoid segregation or, if it must be
used, to reduce the period of its use.
20. a. Maximum
security units should be used only as a last
resort and allocation to such units should be
regularly reviewed.
b. Within maximum
security units, regimes should distinguish
between the handling of prisoners who pose an
exceptional risk of escape or danger should they
succeed, and the handling of those posing risks
to other prisoners and/or to those working in or
visiting the prison.
c. With due regard
to prisoner behaviour and security requirements,
regimes in maximum security units should aim to
have a relaxed atmosphere, allow association
between prisoners, freedom of movement within
the unit and offer a range of activities.
d. The management
of dangerous prisoners should be guided by the
principles embodied in Recommendation No. R (82)
17 concerning custody and treatment of dangerous
prisoners.
Counteracting the
damaging effects of life and other long-term
sentences
21. In order to prevent
and counteract the damaging effects of life and
long-term sentences, prison administrations
should seek:
to ensure that
opportunities are provided at the start of the
sentence, and later as necessary, to explain to
prisoners the prison rules and routine and their
duties and rights;
to provide prisoners
with opportunities to make personal choices in
as many of the affairs of daily prison life as
possible;
to offer adequate material
conditions and opportunities for physical,
intellectual and emotional stimulation;
to develop a pleasant and
user-friendly design of prison premises,
furniture and decoration.
22. Special efforts should
be made to prevent the breakdown of family ties.
To this end:
prisoners should be
allocated, to the greatest extent possible, to
prisons situated in proximity to their families
or close relatives;
letters, telephone calls
and visits should be allowed with the maximum
possible frequency and privacy. If such
provision endangers safety or security, or if
justified by risk assessment, these contacts may
be accompanied by reasonable security measures,
such as monitoring of correspondence and
searches before and after visits.
23. a. Other
contacts with the external world such as access
to newspapers, radio and television and external
visitors should also be fostered.
b. Particular
efforts should be made to allow for the granting
of various forms of prison leave, if necessary
under escort, taking into account the principles
set out in Recommendation No. R (82) 16 on
prison leave.
24. Prisoners should have
access to appropriate counselling, help and
support in order:
to come to terms with
their offences, the harm done to victims and any
associated guilt feelings;
to reduce the risk of
suicide, particularly directly after conviction;
to counteract damaging
effects of long-term detention, such as
institutionalisation, passivity, lowered
self-esteem and depression.
Special categories of
life sentence and other long-term prisoners
25. Prison authorities
should be mindful of the possibilities of
repatriation for foreign prisoners as afforded
by the European Convention on the Transfer of
Sentenced Persons or bilateral arrangements with
the relevant country. Foreign prisoners should
be informed of these possibilities. Where
repatriation is not possible, prison management
and practice should be guided by the principles
of Recommendation No. R (84) 12 concerning
foreign prisoners.
26. Efforts should be made
to protect vulnerable prisoners from threats and
maltreatment by other prisoners. If protective
segregation from other prisoners is necessary,
complete isolation should be avoided and a safe
and supportive environment provided.
27. Action should be taken
to allow for an early and specialist diagnosis
of prisoners who are, or who become, mentally
disturbed and to provide them with adequate
treatment. The guidance given in Recommendation
No. R (98) 7 concerning the ethical and
organisational aspects of health care in prison
should be followed.
28. Elderly prisoners
should be assisted to maintain good standards of
physical and mental health. To this end, the
prison administration should provide:
access to appropriate
diagnostic and remedial services;
opportunities for work,
exercise and other activities that are suited to
the individual prisoner's physical and mental
capacities;
dietetically appropriate
meals, taking into account special dietary
needs.
29. a. In order to
allow terminally ill prisoners to die with
dignity, consideration should be given to
releasing them so that they may be cared for and
die outside prison. In each case, the prison
administration should make every effort to
provide these prisoners and their families with
appropriate support and care.
b. Appropriate help
should also be given to assist these prisoners
with any desired practical arrangements, for
example, the making of a will, burial
arrangements, etc.
30. a. Since women
prisoners usually constitute a small minority of
those serving long or life sentences, their
individual sentence planning should be carefully
considered so as to meet their specific needs.
b. Particular
efforts for women prisoners should be made to:
avoid social isolation
by merging them as far as possible with the
general population of women prisoners;
give access to special
services for women prisoners who have been
subject to physical, mental and sexual abuse.
c. Mothers serving
life or other long sentences should not be
denied the opportunity of having their young
children with them solely because of their
sentence. Where young children remain with their
mother, the prison administration should provide
appropriate conditions.
31. Special management
care and attention should be given to the
particular problems posed by prisoners who are
likely to spend their natural life in prison. In
particular, their sentence planning should be
sufficiently dynamic and allow them to benefit
from participation in meaningful activities and
adequate programmes including interventions and
psychosocial services designed to help them cope
with their sentence.
32. a. Juvenile
prisoners with long sentences of imprisonment
should only be held in institutions or units
designed for their special needs.
b. Regimes and
sentence planning for these juveniles should be
guided by the relevant principles set out in the
United Nations Convention on the Rights of the
Child and in Recommendation No. R (87) 20 on
social reactions to juvenile delinquency, and
pay particular attention to:
the provision of
adequate education and schooling;
the need to maintain close
contacts with their parents and family;
the provision of adequate
support and guidance in their emotional
development;
the availability of
appropriate sport and leisure activities;
the careful planning of the
transition of a juvenile to an adult regime
taking due account of the juvenile's personal
development.
Managing reintegration
into society for life sentence and other
long-term prisoners
33. In order to enable
life sentence and other long-term prisoners to
overcome the particular problem of moving from
lengthy incarceration to a law-abiding life in
the community, their release should be prepared
well in advance and take particular account of
the following:
the need for specific
pre-release and post-release plans which address
relevant risks and needs;
due consideration of the
possibility of achieving release and the
continuation post-release of any programmes,
interventions or treatment undertaken by
prisoners during detention;
the need to achieve close
collaboration between the prison administration
and post-release supervising authorities, social
and medical services.
34. The granting and
implementation of conditional release for life
sentence and other long-term prisoners should be
guided by the principles set out in
Recommendation
Rec(2003)22 on conditional release.
Recalled prisoners
35. If, following
revocation of conditional release, a life
sentence or long-term prisoner is returned to
prison, the principles enumerated in the
foregoing should continue to be followed. In
particular, a further assessment of risk and
criminogenic needs should be undertaken and used
for choosing a suitable allocation and further
interventions, with the aim of preparing the
prisoner for early reconsideration for release
and resettlement in the community.
Staff
36. In general, the
recruitment, selection, training, conditions of
work and mobility, as well as the professional
conduct of staff dealing with life sentence and
other long-term prisoners, should be guided by
the principles contained in Recommendation No. R
(97) 12 on staff concerned with the
implementation of sanctions and measures.
37. a. Since staff
working with life sentence and long-term
prisoners need to deal with the specific
difficulties posed by these prisoners, they
should be given the special training necessary
for their duties.
b. Staff should, in
particular, be trained to have a full
understanding of dynamic security so that they
can use this approach to security in the
performance of their duties.
c. Senior,
specialist and supervisory staff should, in
addition, be trained to supervise and support
the basic grade staff in the use of dynamic
security.
38. Given the increased
risk of manipulation of staff by prisoners
serving long sentences, mobility and rotation of
staff should be encouraged.
39. Regular meetings and
discussions should be arranged between the
different staff categories in order to achieve
and maintain a proper balance between a
sympathetic understanding of prisoner problems
and firmness of control.
Research
40. Research on the
effects of life and long sentences should be
undertaken with special reference to the part
played by factors that inhibit deleterious
effects and promote a constructive adaptation to
prison life.
41. Evaluative research
should be conducted and published on the
effectiveness of programmes designed to improve
post-release adjustment in the community.